2nd baseman taking throw to 2nd on steal attempt ?

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Curious as to adv and disadv of having the 2nd baseman take the throw down on a steal attempt. The obvious disadv is the 2nd baseman's monentum is taking her away from 2nd and opposed to the SS whose monentum and vision is coming towards 2nd. The 2nd baseman would also have to have very good footwork to pivot , catch, and apply the tag. Also if there is a runner on first and the batter either fake bunts or bunts the 2nd baseman has to cover 1st assuming the 1st baseman charges. We have had a continuing problem getting the SS to get there to cover . Shes not slow just doenst consistirenty get an early enough break to get there to receive a throw . any suggestions to tighten up our teams on the steal attempt ? Just simulate it in practice over and over ? thanks MD

 

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Re: 2nd baseman taking throw to 2nd on sreal attempt ?

Some girls just don't think "game" during the game. They are slow to react to situations. You can cheat your shortstop a few steps but few coaches will plant her by the bag and truth be known, a few will still act surprised when the throw comes. I've seen teams hold their 1st baseman back on a bunt to free the 2nd baseman to cover second. Depending on the age group, you could cover second with your center fielder.

My guess is a lot of shortstops are simply reluctant to cover and try for the tag. They are afraid of being run in to or getting their arm/glovehand slid into. Many know to get over there but won't. You've got to get this kid to overcome her fears or find another shortstop. She's just not the player you thought you had there.

 

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Make sure she (the SS) is in a good athletic stance (balls of the feet, weight on the inside big toes) so she can react either to the ground ball or to the steal. If she's afraid of being taken out while covering the steal, I'm not sure what can be done. Maybe have her visualize how important that out will be in many games. And make sure that she understands the situations in which a steal eliminates the needs for a sac bunt and gives the offense a much better shot at scoring that runner.

As for having second cover the steal, the fake bunt really puts that second base person in a bad spot. I would think that only with a very athletic pitcher and a clear understanding that the first base person is anchored would you have second base cover the steal. And even then, you might be giving up too much on the bunts and attaining too little on the steal coverage.

 

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CGS hit on it. The main reason the 2B does not take the throw on the steal is due to the amount of small ball played in fastpitch, where most teams have the 1B and 3B playing in and crashing hard and 2B covering first.Len

 

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My dd, who is a swing player between JV and Varsity, and I discussed this the other day because of what she does.

At practice, she takes her normal lead-off challenging (daring) the catcher to throw to 1st. On the first throw, she went back. The 2nd time, catcher threw a hard shot at 1st. The first base went to tag my dd, only to see her standing on 2nd. I told her to watch the throw to the second basemen, but after reading what cgs stated, I'm going to tell her to keep doing it.

 

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thanks for the opinions. the bottom line is the SS just needs to get there . cant keep F3 back our F1 is not a fast kid at all . The 1st time a team saw that it would bunt city. The weird thing is our SS is a fine athlete . I never thought about the scenario of her being uncomfortable receiving/tagging because of the runner barreling into second. MD

 

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The 2nd baseman should absolutely be responsible for covering the bag at times. Why anyone thinks she shouldn't is absolutely beyond me. Here's a situation: Runner at first. Right handed power hitter up. Batter's team is down 4 to 1 with one out in the fifth inning. There is absolutely no chance that this girl will bunt. The shortstop should be playing closer to the hole than up the middle. The second baseman should have responsibility for the steal and should be cheating toward second not only for the steal, but also for the double play in the event that the batter hits a hard one-hopper to third or short. It's an absolute no-brainer; yet many coaches still insist that both the shortstop and the second baseman play totally out of position by having the shortstop cheating to cover for the steal-- and having the second baseman playing more toward first. D-U-M-B, dumb. Here's the thing: If your second baseman is so slow that she can't play 15 feet from second base and wait until the ball crosses home plate and still beat a runner who left from 60 feet away as the pitch was released, then she shouldn't be playing second base. By the same token, if she can't play 15 feet from second base and sprint to first base to cover the bag after seeing the batter shorten to bunt, and beat the batter, who has to bunt the ball and run 60 feet-- then she shouldn't play second base. The problem is not with the philosophy; the problem is that no one is coaching the players properly. It's really simple. The responsibility for covering second on the steal should change from batter to batter, from game situation to game situation. It could change from pitch to pitch. If you're coaching and you're not constantly changing the coverage depending on the batter, the score, the number of outs, the count, etc., then you're just not very good-- and you probably lose games because of it. If you're coaching and your players don't change the coverages themselves during the game depending on the score, the likelihood of the steal, the bunt, the fake bunt, etc., then you aren't educating your players enough during practice. Good, well-coached middle infielders should be able to adjust on the fly to surprise bunts, fake bunts and the like. Any coach who insists that the shortstop always covers on the steal is, well, not acting in the best interest of his team.